Celebrity Polygraph Operator Dan Ribacoff Sent Racist Text Messages

Daniel D. Ribacoff at the set of the Steve Wilkos Show

AntiPolygraph.org has obtained copies of text messages sent by polygraph operator Daniel D. Ribacoff of New York that, while intended to be humorous, evince a deep-seated contempt of, and disdain for, black people.

Ribacoff, a member of the American Polygraph Association, performs polygraph examinations for the NBCUniversal tabloid television talk program, The Steve Wilkos Show, many of whose guests are African American.

Ribacoff sent the texts to an employee of his private investigative firm, International Investigative Group, in 2017 and 2018. Both Ribacoff and the employee are middle-aged Jewish white males.

As previously reported on AntiPolygraph.org, Ribacoff’s company, International Investigative Group, which stands accused of defrauding a client out of millions of dollars, holds a contract with the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Department (MTAPD) to conduct pre-employment polygraph screening of applicants.

A complaint currently pending before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges racial discrimination in connection with a polygraph examination conducted by Ribacoff’s company on Jonathan Kyle Carter, a black New York Police Department (NYPD) officer who in 2020 sought to transfer to the MTAPD.

The racist texts Ribacoff sent include:

An image with the caption, “When your GPS says ‘turn right on to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd'” depicting locking car doors, raising windows, and loading a revolver. (Sent on 16 June 2017 at 1:29:56 PM EDT.)

An image of a black man carrying a white man with the caption, “When you can’t carry a gun because of a felony… but you found a loophole.” (Sent on 24 June 2017 at 9:59:48 AM EDT.)

An image of the Disney version of the Winnie-the-Pooh character Tigger on top of the head of a black boy with the caption, “You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf, now get ready for.” (Sent on 15 September 2017 at 12:18:24 PM EDT.)

An image of a black man in a cardboard box with the caption, “When you’ve got $9.34 left in your bank account and you have to start practicing being homeless.” (Sent on 7 February 2018 at 8:26:27 PM EST.)

An image of a “Black Monopoly” board where apart from “Jail,” every square reads “Go to Jail.” (Sent on 18 February 2018 at 12:46:51 PM EST.)

An image of a blonde white woman pointing a pistol with the caption, “THE UNITED STATES IS THIRD IN MURDERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. BUT IF YOU DISCOUNT CHICAGO, DETROIT, WASHINGTON, AND NEW ORLEANS, THE UNITED STATES DROPS TO FOURTH FROM THE BOTTOM ON THE SAME LIST. COINCIDENTALLY, THESE FOUR CITIES ALSO HAVE THE TOUGHEST GUN LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES.” The fact-checking website Snopes rates these claims as “mostly false.” (Sent on 20 February 2018 at 1:04:23 PM EST.)

Immediately following this, Ribacoff texted, “What do those 4 cities have in common? A high concentration of Rachet Schvartzas!” “Schvartza” is a Yiddish pejorative term for black people. (Sent on 20 February 2018 at 1:04:24 PM EST.)

Another image Ribacoff sent suggests an anti-Mexican bias. It depicts former U.S. president Donald Trump placing his hand in a crevice at the Western Wall in Jerusalem with the caption, “No, this is no good. You could fit a Mexican child through here.” (Sent on 7 February 2018 at 1:14:02 PM EST.)

Ribacoff also expressed a pro-Jewish bias, writing to his Jewish employee, “👌🏻jews stick together.” (Sent on 31 March 2018 at 2:42:43 PM EDT.)

The attitudes displayed in these messages call into question Ribacoff’s suitability to be responsible for the polygraph screening of MTAPD applicants or indeed, of anyone. (Not that anyone should be subjected to polygraph screening. As we explain in our free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, polygraphy is a pseudoscientific fraud that is inherently biased against the truthful, yet easy for liars to beat.)

In response to a request for comment e-mailed to Daniel Ribacoff, his attorney, Michael D. Cassell of Hogan & Cassell LLP, replied:

This Firm represents Mr. Ribacoff. I am in receipt of your October 2, 2021 email to him regarding text messages that Mr. Ribacoff supposedly sent. Mr. Ribacoff has absolutely no recollection of sending the text messages referenced in your email. In addition, it is my understanding that the messages were obtained by you from individuals with whom Mr. Ribacoff is presently engaged in litigation. Significantly, Mr. Ribacoff vehemently disputes the veracity of any and all claims by these individuals, seriously undermining the authenticity and legitimacy of the referenced emails.

Email from Michael D. Cassell dated 3 October 2021

AntiPolygraph.org is confident of the authenticity of each of the text messages reproduced in this article and notes that Daniel Ribacoff did not deny having sent them.

The Steve Wilkos Show did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

As previously reported on AntiPolygraph.org, in 2019, Steve Wilkos Show guest Anca Pennington attempted suicide after Dan Ribacoff falsely accused her of lying when she denied having burned her infant daughter with cigarettes. When confronted on Facebook with documentation that the child had not in fact been burned but had a ringworm infection, Ribacoff at first defended his polygraph results, but later deleted his remarks.

In 2018, Steve Wilkos Show guest Jesse Wayne Perkins passed a polygraph “test,” presumably administered by Dan Ribacoff, in which he denied having killed a 15-month-old child. But Perkins later confessed to the killing and is currently serving a life sentence. The Steve Wilkos Show responded by removing video of this episode from its YouTube channel.

Steve Wilkos himself has publicly stated that he would never take a lie detector test.

Comments 14

  • This story is a bombshell! Now, let’s see if Wilcos fires Ribacoff. He will if he has any integrity. Don’t hold your breath.

  • Antipolygraph.org has credibility. Dan Ribacoff, and the entire lie industry has no credibility. The cute legalese by Michael D. Cassell of Dan “having no recollection” of sending the texts and blaming the messages on unstated litigation opponents is as overused as blaming business failures on “disgruntled employees.”
    One cannot be honest and be in the lie business. Really, look at the constant credibility issues with Ribacoff and past and present lie detector clowns on the Dr. Phil show, and the liars pushing VSAs, namely “Dr.” Charles Humble and “Dr.” Gary Baker.
    As I have said many times before, I am very upset that my hard earned tax money is wasted by bureaucrats that are to lazy to even do a perfunctory check on the lie industry before contracting with these lie industry scam artists.
    Most importantly, hate mongering of black people is especially repugnant.

  • […] to support his allegations: Racist text messages allegedly sent by Dan Ribacoff. The web site antipolygraph.org has recently acquired highly offensive and blatantly racist text messages, allegedly sent by Dan […]

  • The article by Dirty Cops and PI’s is password protected, but I did manage to open it, but don’t remember what I did, and have not been able to redo the feat. If possible, it would be nice if someone that subscribes to that periodical would send a PDF so Anti-Polygraph could post.
    The article is mostly a recap of what AP published, but with some additional points. Most notably, the black cop applying to the NY transit authority was falsely branded as being deceitful by Lisa Ribacoff, the daughter of IIGPI principal Dan Ribacoff. The applicant advised he suffers from white coat syndrome, and Lisa advised that this was a make believe aliment. (Lisa is not a physician nor a mental health professional) The position the office was applying for is highly paid, with officers making over $100,000 per year after seven years, with additional benefits and overtime. Therefore, Lisa is essentially a gatekeeper although she did not earn the right.
    Getting back to white coat syndrome: Yes, it is real according to the AMA. My sister suffered from this condition, and when noticed she was in a hospital room after waking from surgery, she panicked, yanked out various tubes, and was found dead on the floor
    Lisa is just plain ignorant, mean spirited, and insensitive like her father. How would Lisa like it if she ridiculed was for being obese? Maybe, Lisa has a condition that makes her obese, or maybe she eats to much. But since I don’t know Lisa, nor have a medical degree, I will not make a diagnosis.
    As I have written ad nauseum, I am still very upset that the government officials that contract with the charlatans in both the polygraph and VSA industries will not even do a modicum of research to learn that these pseudo-science devices are no better than tea leaves or a Ouija board in determining truth.

  • […] attorney released an email statement to antipolygraph.org after the first set of racist texts had been published on their blog claiming his client had “no […]

  • […] Trouble for Polygraph Expert Dan Ribacoff as More Racist Texts Surface on Celebrity Polygraph Operator Dan Ribacoff Sent Racist Text Messages […]

  • […] attorney released an email statement to antipolygraph.org after the first set of racist texts had been published on their blog claiming his client had “no […]

  • Last I hear honkies, is that racist statements are still “free speech”.

    George, I totally agree with AP position (false positive NSA 2001), but your left wing, PC bias is showing.

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